Community Views

Editor's Notebook

Community Relations Groups
Are Vital In Battling Anti-Semitism

When Morality Is
The Price Of Peace

DONALD H. COHEN SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH NEWS

ELIZABETH APPLEBAUM ASSOCIATE EDITOR

Community relations is based
The good news is
that American on preserving and implementing
anti-Semitism is the constitutional protections and
at a historic low. freedoms guaranteed to all Amer-
The bad news is icans in the Bill of Rights. It is
that it hasn't based on a prophetic but down-
gone any lower to-earth vision of the type of na-
in the past 20 tion, society and community
where Jewish life will be protect-
years.
The best news ed and permitted to flourish. It
is that Jewish community rela- therefore is necessarily linked to
tions organizations have taken a the rights and freedoms of all
good read on the situation and are Americans, making coalition re-
doing a quality job of developing lationships critical.
Prominent Jewish involve-
protective and proactive strate-
gies to contain and isolate anti- ment in the civil rights move-
Semitism and anti-Semites and ment and other movements for
justice and the strengthening of
are reacting appropriately.
That anti-Semitism arguably intergroup 7' _lations is not based
has been contained doesn't mean simply on a do-gooder altruism,
it is not virulent or dangerous and a blind liberalism or even the
ever-ready for a comeback. Anti- concept of tikkun olam (repair of
Semites have made inroads in the the world).
mainstream political
culture and have seized
on the Internet and oth-
er new technologies to
spread hate as never
before. America re-
mains far and away the
world's largest distrib-
utor of hate material.
Extensive monitor-
ing by private groups,
led by the Anti-Defama-
tion League (ADL), and
the efforts of law en-
forcement agencies re-
main critical.
Low levels of anti-Semitism are due to hard work.
But no one should
It is part of an enlightened self-
think the historic low of anti-Se-
mitic belief among the American interest that recognizes that if a
people is an accident. It's actu- nation practices or sanctions dis-
ally the result of a lot of hard crimination against any group
work in the field of Jewish com- based on race, religion, ethnicity,
munity relations — work that gender or sexual orientation, it is
Jewish communal institutions an inherently dangerous place for
and community individuals the Jewish minority.
As mentioned, studies of Amer-
should support.
The practice of Jewish com- ican attitudes toward Jews have
munity relations rests on a solid remained relatively stable over
body of scholarly research and the past two decades. The num-
practical experience that guides bers break down this way:
• About 5 percent of the pop-
its work. This is not to suggest
that the practice is totally a sci- ulation are hard-core Jew haters.
• About 25-35 percent of Amer-
ence and not an art. An art it re-
mains. But there are proven icans either really like Jews or
subscribe to the enlightened self-
approaches that work.
interest argument above, making
their complicity in oppression of
Don Cohen is the new Michigan
Jews almost an impossibility.
regional director of the Anti-
• About 60-70 percent make
Defamation League (ADL).

up the "malleable middle" that
can throw in their lot with either
group depending on circum-
stances.
The ADL, American Jewish
Committee, Jewish Community
Council and councils across the
nation take action to prevent and
respond to situations where the
malleable middle could join with
the Jew-haters poised to exploit
whatever opportunities they can
to further their agenda of hate.
Actions of community leaders,
from politicians to businesspeo-
ple and clergy, are critical in es-
tablishing societal constraints on
hate. Full-scale community ed-
ucation efforts aimed at under-
standing, bridge-building and
tolerance are important to send
the right message to these "elites"
who set the tone and the para-
meters of the issues.
When David Duke
feels compelled to
deny his past and cur-
rent actions as a
Klansman and a neo-
Nazi, when Pat
Buchanan has to
deny his support for
Holocaust denial and
when Louis Far-
rakhan has to claim
he is misquoted
whenever he appears
in the mainstream
press, we know these
constraints are work-
ing.
Hate is un-American.
Legal constraints are critical,
too.
While haters have the freedom
to hate and disseminate hate ma-
terial, the real harm is when
these attitudes are expressed vi-
olently.
Anti-discrimination legisla-
tion in business, education, hous-
ing, employment, etc. are
essential parts of any anti-hate
approach.
This is why ADL has developed
and seen the implementation of
legislation on hate crimes and
paramilitary training in Michi-
gan and across the nation and is
promoting a legal response to deal

ANTI-SEMITISM page 27

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11

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Do You
What
/ Think?"

Do you see yourself as right
wing or left wing? What does
either position mean to you?

To respond: "So, What Do You Think?"
27676 Franklin Road, Southfield, MI 48034

About 18 years things in life are so clearly
ago I was in black and white?) that I have
Israel on a ju- returned to it time and again.
nior-year- But never did I think I would
abroad program find myself having to argue its
at the Hebrew legitimacy with Jews, on behalf
University of of Jews.
I have just about run out of
Jerusalem. It
was positively patience (and as anyone who
the cat's paja- has seen me with children will
mas. testify, I can be a very patient
I had the opportunity, and person) with Jews who tell me
indeed was encouraged, to and the rest of the world that
learn, experience, challenge there can never be Middle East
everything. The university peace if we don't take care of
made available speakers from "this settler problem."
every side of an issue, and so First of all, you should know
we heard from the Communist that there is no typical "settler."
Party, the secular-Zionist po- • I have met a number and they
litical parties, the most right- are an extremely diverse group.
wing religious parties. We met Some are religious; many are
with Palestinians and Jewish not. Some are committed Zion-
residents of Judea and ists, but there are more than a
Samaria/the West Bank and few living in Judea and
Samaria because it's much
Gaza.
That's why I was surprised more affordable than, say,
when, one evening, I was dis- Jerusalem, where a small
couraged from attending a apartment can run $350,000.
To be honest, I don't really
speech, notices of which had
been plastered throughout the care why they are there. Nor
campus. YOU MUST HEAR am I so religiously or political-
ly inclined on this issue to ar-
THIS MAN!" they read.
When I learned the guest gue that they belong there.
speaker (whose name was nev- What I am certain of is that
er cited on the posters) would they have every right to be
not be allowed to even come on there.
Meir Kahane wanted all the
campus, I was intrigued. And
so, with about 100 other stu- Arabs out of Israel. Today,
dents, I walked to just outside some Jews want all Jews out of
the university gates late that the territories. What's the dif-
night. It was here I had my first ference?
Those condemning the "set-
opportunity to meet Meir Ka-
tlers" (I prefer the term "resi-
hane.
I felt uneasy from the start. dents," but for the sake of
Although an enthusiastic familiarity I'll stick to "settlers"
speaker, he was full of hostili- here) would argue, I'm sure,
ty. He wanted all the Arabs out that there can't be peace as long
of Israel that minute! Compen- as these Jews are on "Arab-
sate them, yes, but give them owned land." Kahane argued
no choice about leaving! And if there could be no peace as long
they refuse, force them all on a as Arabs were on "Jewish-
boat and ship them off! (In- owned land." Who would have
variably, his remarks were thought the two had so much
punctuated by exclamation in common? And who would
points.) Different words and have thought so many could
phrases, always the same mes- have been so shortsighted as to
sage: The root of all Israel's imagine that paradise hinges
on a single thread.
problems was the Arabs!
Israel, a Garden of Eden if
Later, I would speak with
others who had attended this only all the Arabs were out?
strange gathering. With the ex- The day all Israelis prove to be
ception of a very few, we agreed saints (pardon the incongruity,
we wanted nothing more to do but it's such a peculiarly de-
with Meir Kahane (who had lightful image) is the day
been kept off campus, we Michael Jordan needs to take
learned, because past talks had an introductory course on how
incited violence). Interestingly, to play basketball.
Israel will have peace if only
we all had been troubled by the
same notion — namely, that Is- the "settlers" move out? If you
rael should not allow Arabs on think "settlers" are the main-
its land simply because they stay of Israel's problems with
are Arabs. Terrorists and their the Arabs, you need to sit down
supporters, of course, should be with a good book on Middle
expelled. But simply to outlaw East history.
Perhaps the territories will
the presence of an entire group
of people? There was no doubt one day be in the hands of the
Arabs. Perhaps they will be-
in my mind this was wrong.
So potent, so true was this come part of a Palestinian
knowledge (for how many PEACE page 27

